Around UB

Holiday Party Adds to Maryland Food Bank Stores

UB's annual holiday party for faculty and staff, held Dec. 9 in the atrium of the William H. Thumel Sr. Business Center, raised more than a quarter of a ton of food and personal care items for the Maryland Food Bank. UB employees donated dozens of bags of supplies for the food pantry, which were collected at the atrium entrance and delivered to the food bank's Halethorpe Farms Road headquarters the following day by Physical Plant workers. All told, the University donated 541 pounds of goods—one of several neighborly deeds conducted by the campus during the holiday season.

This year's party also featured some homegrown entertainment: a slideshow made up of photos from employees' travels and family memories. Faculty and staff can view the slideshow by logging in to MyUB and going to the Official Announcements section on the opening page. There you'll find a link to the slideshow, complete with some new photos from the party.

 

   

UB's New Radio Ads Now on Air

Curious about UB's new advertising campaign? It features a series of radio ads which showcase the breadth and depth of the University's academic offerings—and they're fun as well. They're airing now on metro area stations, including Mix 106, 98 Rock, WPOC and more.

If you'd like to check out the ads, log on to MyUB and look for a brief about the ads in the Official Announcements section. Click on the links in the brief to hear each ad. They are accessible as mp3 files.

Getting Ready for Session 2010

(Article reprinted from Progressions, the official newsletter of the Office of Government and Community Relations)

It’s that time of year again: The Maryland General Assembly will convene in just a little more than seven weeks for the 2010 legislative session. On Jan. 13, legislators and executive branch members will begin tackling the state's fiscal crisis and fielding thousands of new and returning legislative proposals. In just 90 days, our state leaders not only must produce a balanced budget, but they have to review and pass any legislation that is to take effect in 2010. In the 2009 session, more than 2,600 bills were introduced for the Assembly's consideration; 799 gained final approval.

UB's Office of Government and Community Relations will serve, as always, as your liaison to the happenings in Annapolis. For information on key legislation that affects the University and for links to other important information, visit www.ubalt.edu/governmentrelations. Once the legislative session begins, we will routinely update our Web pages to provide you with the most timely and pertinent information.

(Want to learn more about Government and Community Relations? Check out the full newsletter and past editions here.)

Computer Labs 'Green Up' with Double-Sided Printing

In the environmental movement, often it's the little things that add up to real change. In UB's various computer labs, a technical switch to the use of double-sided printing is resulting in the saving of hundreds, perhaps thousands of sheets of paper—as well as printer ink, cartridges and student printer page fees.

At the beginning of the fall semester, the Office of Technology Services introduced the option of printing on both sides of a sheet (known as "duplex printing" in the vernacular) for those who use the OTS-supported labs in AC101, BC002, and LC426. The change was intended to cut down on the use of paper, and also to make students' printer page allocations last longer. (Students are allotted a minimum of 300 pages at the beginning of each semester.)

As of next January, double-sided printing will be the default setting in these labs. Eventually, according to OTS, the change will be implemented in all five computer labs.

It's not clear yet how much paper has been saved on campus, OTS officials said, but the potential is significant.

In addition to this effort to make the campus a bit greener, OTS also has instituted a faster, easier and paperless way for students to access more printer paper when they're using the labs. The process of recharging a printer page allotment is now completely online, and takes only minutes to process. Students add pages to their print account through MyUB; pages are added within 10 minutes of the request and the student's account is billed automatically. Print pages are available to students for $5 for 100 sheets.

Now, a student working in the middle of the night in the 24-hour lab in AC103 can add pages online if his or her allotment is nearing zero. Not only does this cut down on paper forms, but it also allows the student to concentrate on the real work at hand—that brilliant essay that results in a solid A.